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06/02/2018

☆ The Nintendo Switch End Of Year Report: A+ ☆

I’ve owned a Nintendo Switch for around a month now and I have just completed Mario Odyssey to the point where I have travelled to the dark side of the moon and pummelled the tougher versions of the Broodals.

It’s at this point where I would like to call a quick timeout and take a little look back at what I’ve learned about the Switch so far and how it has changed my gaming habits.

When the Switch was first released back in March 2017 I was interested in the system from a viewpoint of how Nintendo was expecting to come back from the Wii U mediocrity but wasn’t really looking to purchase a Switch as I was completely happy with my lovely PS4. It didn’t take me long to change my mind as the Nintendo events of 2017 played out like a Rocky Balboa comeback.

I was looking from afar as a bit of a part-time supporter of Nintendo who once owned a magnificent Super Nintendo but had never really got fully on board ever since the glory days of the 90’s.

The Nintendo switch was about to bring me back to TeamNintendo as I witnessed the Zelda phenomenon of March 2017. As I listened to various podcasts, watched YouTube videos and soaked up articles it was clear to see the World had gone Zelda mad. My Twitter timeline was chock full of Zelda, my Instagram feed was bulging with Zelda and my Facebook was bursting with Zelda. Zelda was bringing back the feels of the original 80’s games and that struck a chord with me. It was as though this game was turning experienced gamers back into wide-eyed 8-year-olds again. Gawping at the screens and going on an adventure in a far-off land. It was at this point that I knew I needed to get on the Switch express.

One question remained though, what other games were on the Switch that would make it a worthwhile purchase?

Zelda was good and almost warranted a Switch purchase just to play that but what else was there on the Switch?

It was at this point that most people were scratching their heads a bit as they looked at the underwhelming list of launch titles.

The list read as follows:

•1-2-Switch

•Fast RMX

•Just Dance 2017

•Human Resource Machine

•I Am Setsuna

•Little Inferno

•Shovel Knight

•Skylanders: Imaginators

•Snipperclips

•Super Bomberman R

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Granted, Shovel Knight is a great game but it’s done the rounds. Super Bomberman R was meant to ignite the passions of the B Man massive but it was a total mess up of the relatively easy to follow formula that resulted in a poor B man game.

The head-scratching continued….who was going to fill the void between March 3rd until Mario Odyssey was released? Was Odyssey going to be any good cos it looked weird!!??

Well, it was at this point Nintendo seemed to have learned a lesson from PlayStation.

It seemed that the BIG N had brought the Nindies along for the Switch ride.

The Indie Nindies were welcomed with open arms onto the eShop and there was a window of opportunity for the Indie Game Devs to get hips deep into the Switch scene before the Big M arrived at the end of October 2017. Could those clever Indie chaps delight us with some Indie Gaming gold?

What it actually tended to be was indie games that were already released elsewhere but really benefitted from the totally portable nature of the Switch and its gorgeous screen.

Think World Of Goo, The Binding Of Isaac, Thumper, Cave Story, Dea7h Squared, Retro City Rampage, Thimbleweed Park, Stardew Valley and you’ll get the picture and by the time this little lot made its way to Switch then the cavalry backed it up with a bit of Mario Kart, Steamworld Dig 2, Golf Story and the ultra surprisingly awesome Mummy Demastered!

Now we even see DOOM, LA Noire, Rocket League, and Skyrim getting involved in the party. The 3rd Party biggies are on board, the Nindies are on board and the Big N is firing on all cylinders.

By the time Christmas came I knew that I only wanted one present and two things to accompany that box of gaming goodness. I pleaded for a Switch with Zelda and Odyssey and waited patiently for Santa to drop it off.

Christmas 2017 was a joyous occasion, I was the proud owner of one of Nintendo’s finest consoles ever created. It felt great. It was a lovely machine to look at and it felt great in my hands as I powered it up for the first time. There was something really great about popping a mini-cartridge into the cart slot and watching it spring into action.

The thing that really made me smile though and the thing that I love the most about the Switch is its ability to draw in my two daughters. They were intrigued by Daddy’s Christmas present as essentially to them (a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old) this was an odd looking iPad and then there was Mario jumping around on it! They both wanted to play immediately and I was one proud Dad seeing my girls play Mario properly for the first time in their lives. They’d only really known Mario from Run on my iPhone but had never got involved further than that because prior to now my gaming took place in m,y office and not in our front room. The Switch allows me to spend time gaming downstairs with everyone else and we can all get involved.

Nintendo has weaved its magic again and I’m smitten with my little grey wonder.

At this point in time, I’ve only actually played the Switch as a handheld as I haven’t felt the need to hook it up to the family TV as the screen looks so beautiful but maybe I’ll hook it up when I get to playing Zelda…..

For now, though I’ll stick to handheld joy with my Nintendo fam and I’ll try not to neglect my still lovely PS4.